January Highlights & News

Black-necked Grebes Sonning Eye GPs courtesy of The Gun-slinger.

Headline Birds

January can be a rather slow birding month but Oxfordshire seems to be bucking the trend. Following a cracking Little Bunting last January this year produced another genuine Oxford rarity in the form of a Green-winged Teal on Standlake's Pit 60 for two days. There was plenty of other good birding action to cheer up the short winter days with last years Kulmien's gull still around at Yelford at the beginning of the month, Red and Black-necked Grebes at Henley gravel pits, a Yellow-browed Warbler at Preston Crowmarsh, a Great Grey Shrike at Baulking Pit and a brief appearance by a Glossy Ibis near Carterton on the 18th.  All told not bad, not bad at all!

The Month In More Detail

Gull activity in January was good with the Yelford Kumlien’s Gull still present until the 4th and a probably at Baulking pit on the 20th. The taxonomy of the Kumlien’s Gull is still under debate with the majority seemingly in favour of an Iceland Gull subspecies and/or a hybrid between Iceland and the recently demoted Thayer’s Gull. There were  regular reports of roosting Iceland gulls from Farmoor and Caspian Gulls were at Farmoor on the 10th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 22nd , and 23rd, Yelford on the 24th and 28th, Port Meadow on the 14th and 16th and finally three at Didcot landfill on the 27th.

Iceland Gull Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Nic Hallam.

Henley gravel pits provided some great grebe action with 5 Black-necked Grebes present between 18th to 29th  until the end of the month and a Red-necked Grebe from 18th to 25th although, sadly, the latter bird appeared to be injured.



Injured Red-necked Grebe Henley Road GPs courtesy of Badger.

For what was once a genuine rarity, Great White Egrets continued  their progressive UK colonisation with regular reports from Standlake Common and Woodstock during the month. Will this year be the year they bred in Oxfordshire?

Merlin Aston courtesy of Jeremy Dexter

Raptors were again well represented with regular reports of Merlin from Otmoor, Aston and other locations. Peregrines were similarly well represented with reports from Otmoor, Chinnor and other sites . A pair also appear to have taken up residence at Magdalen College .


Hen Harrier Otmoor courtesy of Tezzer.

The 2nd winter male Hen Harrier remained faithful to Otmoor throughout the month.

Great Grey Shrike Baulking Pit courtesy of Mark Merritt.

A Great Grey Shrike was a great find at Baulking Pit on the 28th with some speculation that this may be the returning bird from last winter.

A Green-winged Teal was a fantastic discovery at Standlakes Pit 60 reserve on the 15th and 16th and constitutes only the fifth Oxfordshire record and the first in nearly fifteen years.

2003 April (dk) on Otmoor RSPB
2002 10th April Dix Pit
2000 20th March Dix Pit male (possibly accompanied by a female)
1988 3rd-11th April Days Lock



Drake Green-winged Teal Pit 60 courtesy of Badger.

Beyond the Green-winged Teal that graced Standlake's Pit 60 on the 15th and 16th, other notable ducks include a Scaup on Farmoor on 6th and 19th and Dix’s pit on the 28th. A Mandarin was on Baulking Pit on the 4th. A red-head Smew was reported from Sonning Eye gravel pits on the 21st and 27th. A Whooper Swan was on Port Meadow on the 3rd.

Woodcock were very welcome finds on Otmoor on the 3rd and Port Meadow on the 9th. A Jack Snipe was reported from Sutton Courtenay on the 7th. Reports of this bird seem to be down on recent years.

Yellow-browed Warbler Preston Crowmarsh courtesy of Badger.

A Water Pipit was on Farmoor on the 6th and a presumed over wintering Yellow-browed Warbler was recorded at on Preston Crowmarsh from the 1st to the 3rd.

A very reasonable January and spring is but a month or so away!



The January highlights were compiled and written by Jim Hutchins.


News

5 Red Kites, 1 Buzzard & Raven found dead in suspicious circumstances in Oxfordshire.

Press article from the Oxford Mail.

A police investigation has been launched after five red kites, a raven and a buzzard were discovered dead in a village in Oxfordshire.

The birds were discovered by a family on Sunday, September 17, near the village of Pyrton,
on the edge of the Chilterns, who reported them to the RSPB.

All the birds were recovered and x-rayed by a local vet. The x-rays revealed no signs of shot.
However, the birds have now been sent off for toxicology testing by Natural England as part of the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS), to see if the birds have been poisoned.

All birds of prey and ravens are protected by UK law, making it illegal to kill or harm them. Those found to have done so could face six months in jail or an unlimited fine.

Thames Valley Police, Natural England and RSPB are now working together on a joint investigation and are appealing to the public for information.

If you have any information relating to this incident, call Thames Valley Police on 101.

With their six-foot wingspan, red kites are Britain’s third-largest bird of prey and feed mainly on carrion.
If you find a wild bird which you suspect has been illegally killed, contact RSPB Investigations on 01767 680551, email crime@rspb.org.uk or fill in the online form: https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/our-positions-and-campaigns/positions/wildbirdslaw/reportform.aspx